Heat exchanger



June 1949. J. M. GANTVOORT 2,472,413

HEAT EXCHANGER Filed Sept. 25, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR John M. Ganfvoorf June 7, 1949. .1. M. GANTVOORT 2,472,413

HEAT EXCHANGER Filed Sept. 25, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR June 7, 1949- J. M. GANTVOORT HEAT EXCHANGER Filed Sept. 25, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR i760? Ganfi/oorf B ATTO NEY Patented June 7, 1949 UNITED STATES PAT OFFICE HEAT EXCHANGE'R Jbl'm NI. Gantvoort, 'Somerville, N. J assignor to American Locomotive .(Dompany; New York,- N. Y., a; corporation of New York Application. September 25,1945; seriarNis. 618.555"

each end wallofthe aforesaid shell, the header having a greater cross sectional area than the end'wall';

Other and further obj e'cts of this inventionwill appear from. the following description, the accompanying drawings and: the appended claims.

Referring to thedrawin'gs" forming a part of thisapplication', Figure 1" is a foreshortened front view, on a reduced scale, of a heat exchangerconstructed in accordance" with this" in vention;- Fig. 2-is a' view of a portion of the exchanger; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary-longitudinal vertical oentralsec-tion of the exchanger; Fig. 4

isa plan. of the cast wall 'for each end of the exchanger; Fig. 5 isa plan of the-cast header for each end'ofthe exchanger; Fig. Gisan en'd view, taken from the right, of theheader of Eig; 5, parts of anozzle flange being broken away-: Fig-i 7 is section on the:line'VII --VII of Fig; 6;Fig 8 is alsectlonon the'line VIII-V311 of. Fig. 7;. a nozzle being: broken away; Fig- 9 is a: section: onthe line:IX. -IX of Fig.7.; Fig. 1 is an: enlarged: section on the" line X-X oh Fig.

1; the corrugated" element of eachpassagebeing indicated atv theends onlyithereof, in solid lines; Big. 11: isganenlarged view-v of the frontsrightcorner of: Fig.- 10; Fig. 12is a reduced viewof a. portion ofaninner plate; showing; the solder winding. thereof, preparatory tov fabrication of the-exchanger; Fig. 13: is aview' similar to'Fig. 12, of an-outer plate with solder. bands thereon; and Fig. 14' is-an endview of Fig. 13,- taken from the leftthereof.

' A heat exchanger constructed in accordance with the present invention, and indicated generallyby the reference numerall, is shown in h'orl 'zontal" position in the drawings and willb'e'so described; it 'b'ein'g'understood'that the exchanger maybe disposed vertically if desiredi While the invention is applicable to exchangers hav-ing' two or more passages fortwo or more fluids, it is; shown in connection with seven passages for three fluids.

The exchanger includes a-shell 2 rectangular in cross section; having similar cast end walls 3; similartop= andlbottom walls: 4 and-- similar" fib' over the longitudinaleiiges1 of the :WaIIgL-see F'igs.

2. front"- and" rear wan's- 5; six spaced plates 6, parallel to Walls 4 ;"pa'rtiti'on the s'hell lilto s'e'veh passages 1. Walls 4; plates 6 and passages- I have their'length' horizontally. Plates 6- are consid era'bly t'hihner than walls 4. The walls rare cast with seven slots 8; each disposed 'over' one of the seven passages I. The end edges- 5a (Fig; 12) of plates" G"' are-' formed with cut-out portions 61) at their lateral ends and: a re bent upwardly at (Fig-.- 3') to extend inte slots 8 and are permanently attached thereih as" by soldering; Sin'iilarlvthe top wall 4 is formed with cut'-out='port io'ns Mt (Fig. 1-3) at it's lateral 'endsand is bent outwardly at 42) (Fig. 3) to extend into the: top slots- 8 which are of substantially the same lengthasthe-ben't" portion ib. Said top" wall 4 is* permanently attached to the-- wall 3 in the slot 8' as by soldering; The bottom wall 4 is fillet welded exteriorlyto the inner facesof-the w'alls 3E The walls 5"- are thinner than the wa lls' i and are bentto provide outer longitudinal loops- 9 and inne'rlongitudinal loops I'll,- th'e loops op'eriing inWardly of-the shell; The long-mammargin's ofwalls 4 and plates 6 are permanentl secured in loops rand l0 respe'ctl'v'ely,- as by soldering, aind the= lobp's S'are further strengtherred by bolts l l passliigthrough orifices therein and in the enclosed margins of-tl'ie' walls i The end edges ofthe-loops'are' welded exterierly to the adjacentfa'ces of walls 3.

Eachpassage Tha's disposed thereina corrugated element or membrane l2; Eachelement H2 is formed of 'a' row; of spaced U-sh'a'-ped parts l3; each having twolegs" M perpendicular to the walls" 4" and plates 6 andconneetea": at one" end by a U-be-n'd I51 Adjacent'lgs ll of adjacentparts are con'nected at' their other: ends by U-bends l6. 'Ihe' 'spaces between" the legs r'u'n longitudinally-of the'sh'elll Each of the U'-beiid'sis'perinanently attached, ias by soldering;.to the adjacent Walls d or'plaltes 6-, as the case rnaybe. The elements (membranes) extend the heat exchange surfaces of the-walls 4'andplate's fi and furthermore, their legs providetension members holding the" walls 4. and plates 6 in rigid J parallelism, preventing distortion thereofby pressures in the passages I. The. plates d tie'tlie walls5 together.

In order to=solder the'e'lements to the walls" and'plates 6, the w'al-lsi4 have attachedthereto during-fabrication of th'e heat exchanger,- rows of bands [1 of solder; eaclr band lTcompletely crossmg? the inner faceof: the "wall' 4-" and beingbent -through the header.

3 13 and 14. The plates 6 are similarly provided with bands by winding a continuous strip of solder l8 helically transversely around each plate, thus providing solder bands on opposite faces of the plate, as is clearly shown in Fig. 12. This solder attaches the elements to the walls 4 and plates 6 when the heat exchanger is put in a furnace and heated to a soldering temperature. The elements I2 are considerably thinner than the plates 6. The solder bands are also employed in securing the longitudinal edges of the walls 4 and plates 6 in the loops 9 and I respectively and in securing the end edges of the top wall 4 and of the plate 6 in the slots 8.

The features of the heat exchanger bearing on the side wall loops and the corrugated members form no part of the present invention except as they bear on the inclined end walls and headers of the present invention. For a further understanding of a heat exchanger having these features reference may be had to the application of Walter Gloyer and John M. Gantvoort, Serial No. 618,554, filed of even date herewith.

A header I9 is bolted to each of the walls 3. Each header, as shown in Fig. 7, has two large side compartments and 2| and a center chamber or compartment 22. Nozzles 23, 24 and 25 open respectively into compartments 20, 2| and 22. The header has eight parallel walls 26 between compartments 20 and 2|, forming seven chambers, each extending over a slot 8 in the wall 3, the center chamber being the chamber or compartment 22. This center chamber opens to the adjacent nozzle 25 and is otherwise closed by the adjacent walls 28 and end walls 21. Three of the remaining chambers, each indicated by the numeral 28, open into the compartment 20, and the remaining three chambers 29 open into the compartment 2 I.

Each of the passages 1 opens into oppositely disposed chambers and it will be noted that no adjacent passages i open to the same nozzle, the corresponding nozzles at opposite ends of the exchanger serving one as an inlet and the other as an outlet for the passage 1 or passages 1 communicating therewith. As aforesaid, the present heat exchanger is adapted for the passage of three fluids, one of the three fluids passing through the center passage 1 opening into compartments 22, another fluid passing through the passages 7 opening into the compartments 2!] and the third fluid passing through the remaining passages 1 opening into the compartments 2|.

Each wall 26 has bulges bored to provide bolt holes 30. Each end wall 21 of the center chamber or compartment 22 also has a bulge providing a bolt hole 30. The bulges extend completely Similarly, the closing end wall of each compartment 20--2| has a bulge providing a bolt hole 3| and three posts forming part of the casting extend through each coinpartment 20--2| and are bored to provide bolt holes 32. Holes 30 are perpendicular to the wall 3 when the header is superimposed thereon, but

holes 3| and 32 are inclined. Wall 3 has a threaded bolt hole or recess 33 in line with each hole 30 so that the header can be firmly bolted to the wall 3 by bolts 34. There is a row of recesses 33 along each of the four margins of the Wall 3 and a row of recesses 33 in each of the ribs between the slots 8. Wall 3 is of a size so that it extends only slightly beyond the chambers 22-2829, leaving the compartments 20 and 2| laterally overhanging the shell. As is clearly shown in Fig. 1, the walls 3 and headers 9 are 4 disposed obliquely and the angle of the holes 3l32 is accordingly such that these holes are vertica1 when the shell is disposed horizontally. The holes 3 |-32 are employed in securing the exchanger to a mounting (not shown).

It is contemplated that the exchanger of the present invention will be of small cross-sectional size. For instance, the largest cross-sectional length of the shell, which is the cross-sectional length of the wall 4 as shown in Fig. 10, may be only eleven inches, Fig. 10 being substantially actual size. Accordingly, due to the thinness of the plates 6 and their closeness together, a problem of heading the passages 1 becomes apparent.

The present invention provides a header construction for the passages l which is simple, economical and which provides sufllcient area for all the necessary parts despite the small cross-sectional area of the shell. That is, the area of the wall 3 is substantially larger than the cross-sec tional area of the shell, due to the fact that the wall 3 is inclined. The slots 8 provide simple means for securing the thin plates 6 to the header. Furthermore, inclining the wall 3 provides sufl'lcient metal (ribs) between the slots 8 to provide for the necessary large number of threaded recesses 33.

While there has been hereinbefore described an approved embodiment of this invention, it will be understood that many and various changes and modifications in form, arrangement of parts and details of construction thereof may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and that all such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims are contemplated as a part of this invention.

The invention claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A heat exchanger comprising an open ended rectangular shell; a plurality of spaced parallel plate members in said shell extending longitudinally thereof and partitioning said shell into a plurality of individual narrow passages, said plate members being disposed between and parallel to two of the side walls of said shell and having a thickness substantially less than the thickness of said two side walls; a relatively thick closure plate secured to each of the opposite ends of said shell at an oblique angle thereto, each of said closure plates being provided with spaced ribs forming a plurality of parallel slots each in register with one of said narrow passages; and an open-faced header provided with a pair of oppositely disposed parallel nozzles and an intermediate nozzle secured on each of said closure plates, each of said closure plates and its correlated header forming a pair of oppositely disposed chambers and an intermediate chamber, said intermediate chamber being divided into a plurality of separate passages, including a central passage, in registration with the slots in said closure plate, each of said central passages communicating solely with the adjacent of said intermediate nozzles, the remaining separate passages of each of said intermediate chambers opening alternately in opposite directions into said oppositely disposed chambers adjacent thereto whereby separate fluid paths between each of the parallel nozzles of one header and its correlated nozzle of the opposite header are established independently of each other and the respective intermediate nozzles.

2. A heat exchanger as defined in claim 1 wherein the ribs are each of greater cross-sectional width than the individual narrow passage with which it is in register.

3. A heat exchanger comprising a shell having a sloped open end; a plurality of plates partitioning the shell into passages; a closure wall secured to the sloped open end of the shell and disposed in a plane inclined to the planes of the plates, said Wall having transmission slots opening one into each of the shell passages and dividing the wall into a plurality of ribs disposed one in line with each of the passages, the area of the face of each of said ribs being greater than the cross-sectional area of its correlated passage taken along a plane normal to all of the plates; aheader secured to the wall provided with chambers and nozzles opening thereinto; means securing the headers to the ribs; and means at the opposite end of the shell to receive a plurality of fluids for transmission through the passages, slots, and header in heat-exchange relation.

4. A heat exchanger comprising a shell having a sloped open end; a plurality of plates partitioning the shell into passages; a closure wall secured to the sloped open end of the shell and disposed in a plane inclined to the planes of the partition plates, said wall having transmission slots opening one into each of the shell passages and dividing the wall into a plurality of ribs disposed one in line with each of the passages, the area of the face of each of said ribs being greater than the cross-sectional area of its correlated passage taken along a plane normal to all of the plates; a header having chambers therein separated from each other, one of said chambers being separately in communication with the middle transmission slot, another of said chambers being separately in communication with a slot adjacent said middle slot, another of said chambers being separately in communication with a slot adjacent said middle slot on the other side; a nozzle associated with each chamber; bolts securing the headers to the wall at the ribs; and means at the opposite end of the shell to receive a plurality of fluids for transmission through the passages, slots, and header to the nozzles in heat-exchange relation.

5. A heat exchanger comprising an open-ended shell having sloped end portions; a plurality of spaced parallel plates extending through the shell from end to end to partition the shell into a plurality of passages; a closure wall secured to each sloped end portion of the shell, each wall having a plurality of parallel transmission slots each in communication with a shell passage and each dividing the walls into rib portions disposed one in line with each of the passages, the area of the face of each rib portion being greater than the cross-sectional area of the correlated passage taken along a plane normal to all of the partition plates; a header having walls therein in spaced parallel relation arranged to enclose the transmission slots, the middle pair of said walls having walls at their ends to form a chamber communicating .with the middle transmission slot; a wall connecting said middle chamber wall to one end of the adjacent header wall to form an open-ended chamber in communication with a transmission slot adjacent the middle transmission slot; a wall connecting said middle chamber to the other end of the adjacent header wall on the other side of the middle chamber to form a chamber open at the end opposite the open end of the chamber adjacent the middle chamber on the first side, the last described chamber on said other side being in communication with the transmission slot adjacent the middle transmission slot on said other side; bolts securing the headers to the walls at the ribs; a plurality of nozzles associated with the header, each nozzle being in separate communication with one of said chambers; and means at the opposite end of the shell to receive a plurality of fluids for transmission through the passages, slots, and header to the nozzles in heat-exchange relation.

JOHN M. GAN'I'VOORT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,208,022 Schlacks Dec. 12, 1916 1,546,294 Ljungstrom July 14, 1925 1,680,145 Forssblad Aug. 7, 1928 1,692,391 Stanclifie Nov. 20, 1928 1,804,191 Whittam May 5, 1931 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 26,073 Great Britain Nov. 26, 1902 488,571 Great Britain July 11, 1938 609,527 France Aug. 16, 1926 

